President Obama has released the proposed 2013 budget (found herein full and here in summary) and is awaiting approval by the Congress. The budget, with its stated revenue of $2.902 trillion and expenditures of $3.803 trillion, has an overall deficit of $901 billion. Usually some of the first items to get the cut are Arts and Humanities programs (especially on a state level), followed by cuts in services to low or middle class families. However, to achieve this low deficit, smaller than the last few years which were all in the trillion dollar range, it looks like for once the arts were not on the chopping block.
As reported earlier in the budgetary process by Mike Boehm in a post for the Los Angeles Times , and other sources, last year’s panic over the possibility of a governmental shutdown resulted in cuts to the arts and humanities. The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities were cut by 5.6% while some of the larger Washington D.C. organizations such as the Smithsonian not only dodged the cuts but actually expanded a bit. That particular round of cuts was the second such event totaling 12.7% cuts suffered by the NEA and NEH.
Thankfully, this new budget raises the budget closer to the originally set amount the agencies were each set to receive before December’s cuts. The amount pre-cut was $167.5 million for each (NEA and NEH) and they would each receive a 5.5% boost, bringing the total back up to $154.255 million ($13 million short). Though this revised total is a good deal less than what some hoped for, it is still a decent increase and as any art program or organization who has received funding will tell you, every little bit counts. Here is the Wikipedia entry for the budget, which will be updated as the developments occur.
Now; how does this affect the local San Antonio art scene? Grants.
The more money these programs are given, the more they can pass on to organizations via grants and support. Organizers and artists can apply for assistance/support by writing grant proposals which can be learned at events such as this recent workshop hosted by members of Congress and the Office of Cultural Affairs, or through the many available books and websites on the subject. The NEA and NEH have, for decades, been supporting art institutions, libraries, events and organizations around the country and their influence can be felt all around San Antonio.
Of course, the problem with this news is that it is only a possibility. The President has submitted the budget as stated above, but what he receives has yet to be seen. Over the last few months, and indeed throughout his entire time in office, Obama has not had the easiest time getting Congress to move on his areas of concern. Thankfully, and one would hope this is remembered when the time to decide arrives, the NEA and NEH were actually created by Congress. There is little reason that one can come up with to not approve of a budget with a lower deficit than previous years, unless it is to improve the deficit more. Artists all over the country know, from years of experience and personal defeat, that the Congress has a tendency to pull funding from arts and humanities first and ask questions later. Many times, the arts and humanities are used as a talking point to get votes or support, but are the first thing to be thrown overboard.
We shall all wait, holding our breath, until Congress acts.
Let us remain hopeful…
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